Many new generations of commercial aircrafts support avionics full-duplex switched Ethernet (AFDX). AFDX networks usually include two types of devices; AFDX switches and AFDX end systems. AFDX end systems are associated with devices, such as sensors, radar systems, and/or electronic systems, whose applications access the AFDX network components to transmit data to or receive data from the network. AFDX switches are connected to AFDX end systems and are configured to route data between AFDX end systems by performing traffic policing and filtering. For instance, end systems can transmit data (such as sensor data, radar output data, etc.) to control systems within the airplane cockpit. The AFDX switches can route such data to guarantee that it ends up at the proper destination.
Safety is a crucial factor in operating airplanes. As such, most end systems can be equipped with corresponding integrity monitoring capabilities to timely detect any corresponding functional failures. However, AFDX switches do not include adequate integrity check capabilities that are functionally fault-independent of the corresponding AFDX switches.